They called it “a river that roared without warning.”
By: IDNN Environment & Human Tragedy Desk
MOKWA, NIGER STATE —
What began as rising waters on the outskirts of Mokwa turned into a torrent of death by dawn.
In one of Nigeria’s deadliest flooding disasters in recent memory, over 100 people have been confirmed dead, more than 300 are missing, and thousands displaced, after a violent wave of water, mud, and debris swept through Mokwa local government area following days of rainfall and what many believe was a dam overflow failure.
NO WARNING. NO SIRENS. JUST DEATH.
According to eyewitnesses and survivors, entire families were swept away overnight.
“I woke up to water at my chest level. By the time I carried my baby and ran out, my wife was gone,” said Ibrahim Audu, now sheltered in a makeshift school camp.
Houses, farmlands, roads, and bridges were washed away.
The Mokwa–Kaduna–Bida corridor remains cut off.
Rescue teams arrived 36 hours late.
In Gbara, one of the worst-hit communities, a single compound lost 14 members.
WHERE WAS NEMA? WHERE WAS EARLY WARNING?
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) did not issue pre-flood alerts.
Local communities say there were no evacuation signals, no river monitoring, and no functional drainage clearance.
“We’ve complained for years. We said the dam was vulnerable. Nobody listened,” said Alhaji Abdullahi Saba, a Mokwa elder and former council chair.
A FAILURE OF GOVERNANCE — AND GEOGRAPHY
Experts say the catastrophe was a perfect storm of:
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Neglected dam maintenance
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Deforestation in Mokwa’s catchment areas
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Lack of climate adaptation investment
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Unregulated settlement in floodplains
The affected regions sit along the Niger River flood belt, a known disaster zone with zero urban flood planning despite decades of disasters.
CLIMATE CHANGE HAS ARRIVED. AND IT’S LOCAL.
Meteorologists had forecast unusually heavy rains across North-Central Nigeria.
But no federal agency had translated that into community-level preparedness.
Climate researchers warn this is not a one-off:
“Nigeria is entering a new era of hydro-climatic risk. If we don’t redesign our infrastructure and early warning systems, Mokwa will become the new normal,” said Dr. Zainab Musa of the Nigeria Climate Resilience Institute.
RELIEF ARRIVES TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
As of press time:
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Six camps have been set up in primary schools across Mokwa
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Emergency food and medicine are being coordinated by the Red Cross and NEMA
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Bodies are still being pulled from the mud
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Governor Umar Bago declared 3 days of mourning and visited victims’ families
But survivors are furious.
“You come now for photos and sympathy. Where were you last week when we were begging for help?” a youth leader shouted at state officials.
WHAT NIGERIA MUST DO NOW:
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Audit all existing dams and reservoirs across flood-prone zones
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Implement community-based early warning systems with tech integration
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Fund climate-resilient infrastructure, not just reactive disaster relief
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Relocate at-risk communities with federal housing guarantees
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Designate national flood hotspots with pre-budgeted emergency funds
